10 CD

BDDS's 10th Season CD features some of the most memorable performances from the past five seasons.

It includes an assortment of exotic music: a vivacious Shostakovich waltz for flute, clarinet, and piano; Khachaturian's sensuous Trio for clarinet, violin, and piano; Ginastera's Impresiones de la Puna for flute and string quartet, which reminds one of gauchos galloping across the Pampas; Bloch's epic first piano quintet, described by its first reviewer as "an orgy of savages in the tropical heat"; and Barber's Canzone for flute and piano, a profoundly meditative work.

These selections were chosen for the quality of the performances and the audience appeal of the works.

BDDS artistic co-director Jeffrey Sykes says of the repertoire selection process, "It was very difficult to decide what to put on this CD.

There have been so many memorable performances of great repertoire in the past five years, we could easily put together a live CD from each season." BDDS artists featured on the recording include artistic co-directors Stephanie Jutt, flute, and Jeffrey Sykes, piano; violinists Frank Almond (concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra), Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio (concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony), and Suzanne Beia (concertmaster of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra); violists Sally Chisholm (Pro Arte Quartet) and Suzanne LeFevre; cellist Anthony Ross (principal cellist with the Minnesota Orchestra); and clarinetist Doris Hall-Gulati (Franklin and Marshall University).

The CD was recorded and engineered by Audio for the Arts of Madison.

Artwork for the CD booklet was created by Mike Bass of Lindsay Stone & Briggs advertising firm and donated to BDDS.

The CD was manufactured by Oasis CDs of Virginia.

BDDS's 10th Anniversary CD is the second live recording released by the festival.

Its 5th Anniversary CD proved to be exceptionally popular and sold out quickly.

This is perhaps because the CD gives an accurate reflection of what goes on at a BDDS concert.

"Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society is the best thing going in Madison for chamber music," says John Schaffer, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.

"I consistently leave their concerts exhilarated and wanting more! These performers are top-notch.

They exude a refreshing love for performing, and the audience loves it.

They are truly an asset to this community." Lots of people seem to agree.

Each summer, more than fifteen hundred people in south-central Wisconsin attend BDDS's fifteen concerts.

Thousands more hear BDDS in broadcasts over Wisconsin Public Radio's Music from Wisconsin.

BDDS's artistic goal is to make the concert experience both challenging and fun, to break down traditional barriers between audience and performers without compromising artistic standards of the highest order.

Its programming is extremely eclectic, ranging from indigenous African music to the chamber works of Bach to the newest music.

Its concerts are both a visual and aural feast: they commission art for the performance space to create an atmosphere more inviting than the traditional concert stage.

Quirky surprises like mystery guests and door prizes add to the feeling of fun.

Instead of printed program notes, BDDS artists talk to their audiences, providing them with insight into the artistic process and "establishing rapport rather than just playing," as one concert-goer put it.

By these means, BDDS brings the element of "play" back into chamber music and shows that chamber music, often serious to the point of stuffiness, can be both serious and fun at the same time.

"BDDS concerts are sparkling displays of enthusiasm and joy in the music being performed.

As a musician myself, I am always challenged by what I hear and see--loving it, hating it, needing to hear it again, wondering about the interpretation.

This is vitally important if chamber music as a genre is to continue to change with the times and maintain its audience," says Kathleen Otterson of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Music Department.

Chamber music with a bang.

More bang for your Bach.

What Bach would be doing if he were more fun and less dead.

However you describe what they do, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society always, always features great music played with joy, creativity, spontaneity, and the greatest technical expertise.

Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society is aimed at people who are curious, adventurous, open-minded, and up-for-anything.

People who want to have serious fun.